The Raven & Rooster

I can't recall the last time I saw, or even remember seeing, a raven in and about King City.   But I saw this one last week in Vaughan, on Dufferin Street.   Actually there were two of them.   Like typical ravens, they had, big bodies, huge beaks, very shaggy throats and grey-based neck feathers.   Ravens are northern birds and rarely seen in southern Ontario.   They have been moving south though for the last several years, perhaps because of global weather warming.   They are extremely intelligent and agile flyers: diving and rolling in flight by tucking in one wing, also flying upside down briefly.

After wandering around and discovering ravens nearby in Vaughan, I returned to the Roost, King City's new coffee house on the west side of Keele Street, just south of the King Road.   I ordered a bowl of cold and delicious sherbert and reviewed my shots of the two ravens I had seen.   It was then that I noticed the new paintings for sale, adorning the cafe walls. The artist is Karola Steinbrecher who paints at the nearby Kingcrafts Studio, a few doors south on Keele.   I was very impressed with the colourful, larger-scale painting of the rooster, at right: charming and quite appropriate for 'The Roost'.    

Photos by Barry Wallace

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace